Regency
by dustychinchilla
Summary: A series of loosely related one-shots detailing Elsa and Anna's life prior to Elsa's return after the Great Thaw.
1. Royal Style

**Author's Note/Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Disney, and I am in no way making any profit other than the enjoyment of playing in the Frozen world. This series of one-shots are loosely based on the time period between the death of the King and Queen and Elsa's coronation. Each "chapter" is taken from a different character's point of view, with the object of creating some character sketches and maybe work up to something a little grander is scale in the future.  
**

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It was a warm fall day in Arendelle. It would probably be the last of the season as winter came quickly in the high northern latitudes. The citizens of the prosperous little kingdom's capital city were out enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Of course, the kingdom of Arendelle had yet to hear the news…

Within the castle, servants spoke in hushed voices in deference to the tragic events of the morning. The few footmen and maids still in the employ of the Royal Household were getting themselves and the castle properly fitted out in morning. A Coronian vessel had come into the docks very early that moring, with terrible news. T[he Arendellean Royal yacht, the _Sovereign Crocus_ , had been lost in a storm at sea. All hands hand been lost and the only thing that seemed to have survived was the yacht's nameplate and a few yards of mast and rigging.

It was almost two o' clock now, and Elsa's room was a solid sheet of ice. The Crown Princess and heir to the throne of Arendellle sat on the floor, leaning against the door and hugging her knees to her chest. She looked around mournfully at the damage she had caused to her usually pristine bedroom. She had been doing so _well_. She had even been able to attend chapel services with her family once or twice in the weeks between her eighteenth birthday and the time her parents were called away on the current affairs of state, to visit some of the countries around them and work to forge stronger relationships with their allies and partners. Elsa understood that there were certain obligations the Crown was required to perform, and she knew that her parents loved to travel… At least, her father always came back with amazing stories of places the Crown Princess was certain she would never have the opportunity to see… and it had, after all, been quite a long time since her mother had last seen her sister and a royal wedding was a wonderful excuse…

But then… Her mother… Her _father_ … The Admiral had said there was a storm in the Nordsoen.

Elsa buried her head in her hands once more and choked back a sob. She was trying so hard to control her emotions, to _not feel_. She would be the perfect girl, the perfect princess, the perfect queen. It was what was expected of her, just like papa had always taught her.

Control.

Conceal.

Don't Feel.

Don't let it show.

A wave of chilly wind wafted through the room, coating all of the flat surfaces with a fresh sheen of pale ice crystals. _How could mama and papa have done this to me?_ She wondered as a few snowflakes started to drift lazily through the chilly air. How could they have left her _alone_?

Elsa had always known that she was destined for the throne. As the first born and heir she had been preparing for the role as the _rightful_ and _undoubted_ queen and protector of the dominion her whole life. Even before The Accident, she was learning to be Queen of Arendelle. She and papa had talked about it often, or rather, her had talked of it _to_ her, but her ascension had always seemed like such a distant thing… Something that would take place far in the future. When she was ready. When she had completed her studies. When she was able to control The Curse.

Elsa lifted her head with a supreme effort and stared into the middle distance of her now ruined room. She suddenly felt more lonely than ever, huddled up on the herringbone patterned hardwood floor, leaning against the elaborately painted door. Elsa had always been lonely, or at least she had been for the last ten years. The feeling she was experiencing now was a different sort of 'alone.' She was now alone in her room with The Curse that had always been her burden to bear. There were now only three people who knew her secret. She tried to take a deep, steadying breath, desperately attempting to stop the snow from falling. And then…

Three soft knocks on the door in a painfully familiar pattern interrupted her concentration.

"Elsa?"

It was Anna! Elsa sucked in a breath and held it. Her eyes darted around the room in panic. Ice began to seep from her gloved hands into the floor. She froze and she felt that she should hear her heart racing with mingled fear and longing.

"Elsa, I know you're in there." Anna's voice seemed small. Sad. She sounded like a lost child. _Well,_ Elsa considered, _I suppose she is. We both are…_

The silence stretched between them. "Elsa, please answer me," Anna's voice begged, young and heart wrenching. Elsa clapped her gloved hands over her mouth. She wanted nothing more in the whole world than to be able to answer her sister, to be able to take her in her arms and provide the comfort she _ought_ to. As both a sister and a friend. She could not, however, as the thickening ice creeping up her pale lavender walls and elaborately painted door kept reminding her. She was a monster, and monsters did not provide comfort to poor, lost little girls who had just lost their parents.

 _Perhaps,_ Elsa thought, _I should send her away to school?_

She could, after all. She would still need the approval of the Regent Council, as she would not come of age for almost another three years. As soon as the thought appeared, Elsa squashed it. It was selfish, she knew, but she couldn't bear the thought of sending Anna away. Couldn't bear the thought of being truly alone. Elsa had already isolated herself. Surely, as long as she was careful, Anna would be safe. And maybe Elsa could see her from time to time. Not to _talk_. Never to talk… that would be too much to even hope for… but… just to see… and to hear…

A loud thump from the other side of the door and the resultant vibration of a large object hitting the wooden barrier that separated Elsa from the world made the young woman jump. Across the room one of her vases full of fresh tulips crusted over in a large block of ice. Elsa looked at it with wide eyes. She curled in on herself. She felt terrible. She not only missed her parents but now she was ashamed of herself for being unable to control her emotions, and ashamed that she couldn't be content with shutting herself in, but she had to keep Anna here as a prisoner as well.

The sound of several sets of footsteps and another voice in the hall distracted Elsa from her solitary despair.

"Princess Anna!" It was Kai, the long-serving, faithful Royal Steward. Elsa released the breath she had not realized she had been holding and her shoulders drooped uncharacteristically. Kai was aware of her curse. She could _trust_ Kai. "Your Highness, you must not sit on the floor," he admonished kindly. They continued to speak back and forth, but Elsa was unable to make out any more of the words. Kai's voice was soothing and comforting. Elsa imagined that Kai was giving Anna the hug and comfort that Elsa could not give herself. A bit of the weight sitting on her chest lightened and she strained to hear exactly what they were saying. She was able to make out a few murmured words in a strange masculine voice Elsa couldn't quite place, then Kai's voice in reply. The exchange seemed to end in several words in sharp feminine indignation. Elsa supposed Kai was sending Anna away. She could hear her sister's faint stomping retreating down the hall in the direction Elsa recognized as being back toward the younger princess's rooms.

Elsa waited, trying to reign in her grief and fear and self-loathing. She was getting physically tired, surely a good thing for controlling her ice. Exhaustion made it so much easier to suppress her emotions. There was another knock on the door, and Kai's kind, caring voice wafted across the barrier.

"Your Majesty?" he asked delicately. She couldn't tell whether the deference was for her feelings or her ice. The new style was odd and tears leaked from her half-closed eyes as she pictured her father's insistent and kind instruction on so many subjects. ' _Your Majesty'_ had always been one of her parents. Her place was as ' _Your Highness, the Crown Princess._ '

Elsa cleared her throat and tried to clear her mind as she made another valiant effort to get herself under control.

"Yes, Kai?" she finally managed to respond, in what she hoped was a very grown up, regal, _emotionless_ tone. She suspected she actually sounded like a frightened child.

Silence stretched uncomfortably from beyond the confines of the protection of Elsa's room. She could feel sense of panic start to frost through her veins. The prickle of another frigid outburst started to crawl its way up her spine and down her legs.

"Your Majesty," Kai repeated, as if trying to get them both used to the new mode of address. "I have the Duke of Nordhavn, ma'am. He wishes to…" He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts and gathering himself together. "He wishes to speak with you, and to summon the King's… that is, the _Regency_ Council."

The freezing tingling was edging down Elsa's fingertips. She took a breath in. It was even, elegant, regal. She then exhaled, and drawing on everything she had been training for her entire life, it too, was even, elegant, and regal. She swept her room with her eyes, taking in the havoc she had created.

"May we enter, Your Majesty?" Kai asked delicately. The other man, the Duke, grumbled something Elsa couldn't quite make out. Her eyes darted from the frozen vase to the completely iced over walls. She looked up at the ceiling, directly above where she was sitting in front of the door. Even that was covered in thick icicles. A familiar, intricately designed crystalline snowflake pattern seemed to be mocking her in the ice that covered her world. Just as the rosemaling snowflake design that branded everything she owned mocked her.

" _NO_ ," she almost yelled, then remembering herself, her position, who she was… she was now Arendelle, after all, and though a regency council would stand in the place of her person until she could legally ascend to the throne on her twenty-first birthday, she was now Arendelle.

"No," she repeated more firmly. She picked herself up off the floor. "I am… not presentable, just now." She cringed inwardly at the gross understatement, but it _was_ the truth. Some of her hair had come out of the neat, braided bun she favored. Her eyes were red and dark purple dress and jacket felt like they were soaked through with sweat and grime. She wanted to wash, _needed_ to wash, to calm herself, to engage in something as mindless and routine as dressing before she could meet with Kai or the Duke, or… she thought with another stab of panic, _her_ Regency Council.

"Shall I send for Gerda, then, ma'am?" Kai asked patiently, kindly, tenderly. Elsa could feel her rapidly beating heart slow down. She shut her eyes again, attempting to block out her frosted surroundings. When she opened them again, there was a new hardness in her expression, a firmness of purpose. She screwed up the little courage she felt herself capable of, her face was sliding back into the unfeeling, regal mask she always wore to hide the swirling storm raging within her breast.

"Yes, Kai. Please allow me a few moments. My dear Nordhavn," she addressed the Duke directly, "I shall be ready in half an hour. Kai…" she paused in her instruction. So far, so good, but there was no way she could accommodate the fourteen members of the Regency Council _here_. Certainly not in its current state! "Please ready the… library?" she instructed hesitantly, uncertain exactly what she had meant by it.

She frowned deeply and hugged herself nervously as she strained to catch the conversation the two men seemed to be having on the other side of the door.

"Crown Princess Elsa," Kai's soothing voice wafted in again. "I shall send for Gerda, and will return in half an hour to announce you to your Council. His Grace, the Duke, believes that it may be more comfortable for you to meet everyone for the first time in your study."

 _My study?_ Elsa thought wildly.

"Are you agreeable to this arrangement, Your Majesty?" The strange voice that she suspected she ought to recognize asked. The Duke sounded like a very polite man.

Elsa began to nod dumbly before realizing that Kai and the Duke of Nordhavn wouldn't be able to see her through the thick door and ice. She recalled herself with a grimace at her own silliness. "Yes," she replied. "I believe that arrangement will do very well," she agreed. This time she was almost able to keep every trace of emotion from her voice.


	2. Kai

Like any good retainer, Kai worried about his master's personal and business affairs as if they were his own. There were all the standard cares associated with the office and running a large estate and the added cares of two young women in the house, one of whom destroyed everything she touched and the other with a mysterious ice-curse. He fretted over rent and tax collection. He worried about the chief landholders of Arendelle and their satisfaction with the Regency Government. He was uneasy with letting Princess Anna jump around the gallery hall like it was some sort of circus, and constantly hoping she would begin to follow her sister's example and learn some sense of responsibility. He was concerned about the ever-growing middle and merchant classes and their opinions on Arendellean tariffs. He constantly thought about Crown Princess Elsa's efforts to hide her ice and hoped that she might open up a little more to her sister, at least. He was troubled about Arendelle's relationship with their more warlike _Weasel Town_ neighbors.

Kai had never much liked their chief trading partner to the east. The Kingdom of Westleton was aggressive, a bully on the open market, and that _Duke_ who seemed to run all of their foreign affairs… He had been an officious and pompous little man during the reign of King Agdar and he expected no change now that a regency government was in place. _King Agdar_ , at least, had always been very firm, and the Duke of _Weasel Town_ had seemed quite charmed with Queen Idun. Indeed, who was not? Whenever she attended a function or event, the ambassador had even made a point of pretending to have manners. But it had always seemed to Kai that the Duke was always trying to, well, _weasel_ , something out of the Kingdom of Arendelle. Like he was trying to take advantage of his King, his Government, and his People.

That had always left a bitter taste in Kai's mouth.

And now the little man was coming back to Arendelle. Probably backed with the hoard of thugs he called his personal guard. The Treaty of Guldone, establishing the terms of trade between Arendelle and _Weasel Town_ would expire at the end of the coming summer, and the trade did have some benefit to Arendelle. Even if only to keep a friendly diplomatic relationship with _Weasel Town_. Yet despite the fact that the Government had only just come out of mourning for the late King and Queen, and that the late fall, early winter weather would make maritime travel extraordinarily uncomfortable at best, _Weasel Town would_ send their delegates to Arendelle to begin negotiations for the next two-year's agreement. Kai sincerely wished that Arendelle could just make _them_ sign something for a longer term than two years. He also recognized that this was a hopeless fantasy and that _they_ would want to come back every two years in the hope of bullying an even better rate of exchange for Arendelle's very rich, very expansive stocks of hardwood timber, iron ore, coal, and fine woolen cloth. In return, Arendelle would be flooded with useless and very shoddy manufactures, cheap trinkets, and, of course… all of the weapons and armament used to equip Arendelle's modest navy, and even more modest army were imported from _Weasel Town_.

Kai sighed. Maybe they should just enter into an alliance with Southern Isles. He was currently sitting at the desk in his office, going over the previous year's treaty at the behest of the Crown Princess, so that he might be able to offer something of value to the rest of the Regency Council. At least the _Weasel Town_ delegation would not have access to the palace. The Crown Princess had been _quite_ adamant that no strangers were to be granted entry past the ever-closed gates. The Regency Council had felt that she was missing a very good opportunity to show off the riches and power of Arendelle and, though no one quite dared to suggest it to the young Crown Princess, her own _personal_ beauty, to a very important trading partner, but they let the matter drop. She refused flatly to meet with any foreign dignitaries and with her usual expressionless mask of regal indifference; she had promptly left the meeting, pleading illness. She had left behind a room full of bemused councilors. The Duke of Nordhavn, the chief of the council, was as unflappable as ever, and with a calm observation about the draftiness of this particular hall, he had picked up the thread of the meeting and they continued as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Kai rose from his chair to stretch his legs. The portly steward was starting to feel his 56 years, now, and the little aches and pains… as well as his baldness… were testament to each and every one of them. At least his hair was still the rich auburn it had always been. _Well,_ he thought, _I don't suppose you can have everything_.

He took a few steps around the room, and then with a disgruntled glance at the papers on his desk, he opened his office door. He would take a little walk to stretch his legs, and see that everything in the palace was running smoothly. He took off down the hallway, idly looking at the expensive wallpaper, examining the state of the princely carpets. Ensuring all of the flowers were fresh. Everything seemed as it should be. He stopped to casually look out of the window, in order to assess the state of the palace gardens.

It was snowing outside, and the soft, white powder was only just starting to stick to the flagstone walkways that meandered throughout the palace grounds. The weakening winter sun was about halfway through its progress across the sky. The days were getting very short, it would probably be dark in only a few hours. Kai smiled at the calm, peaceful serenity of the scene before him.

A loud crash and muffled shouts rudely tore his attention from contemplation of the winter frost enveloping the gardens. He turned toward the direction of the noise, trying to determine where exactly it had come from. The sound of shouting wafted up the nearby stair well. With an expression of dawning comprehension, he sprinted as best as his portly physic and old legs could carry him. It was an action that he felt did not befit his age nor his dignity, but there was only one individual in the Royal Residence who could possibly have caused such a tremendous crash and make quite so much noise.

He raced down the stairs, breathing heavily. He glanced from side to side anxiously before finally locating the object of his alarm.

Princess Anna of Arendelle had, in her enthusiasm for everything she did, apparently decided that the stairs were for lesser individuals, and had taken the _railing_ at a little too fast a pace. The result was that she was now sitting up, looking around with equal parts guilt and amusement, in a pile that _had_ been until a few moments ago, a fine display of three full sets of plate armor.

Kai stopped short a few paces from the rubble containing Princess Anna. He was still breathing hard, and as it looked like the Princess was unhurt, he produced a pristine white handkerchief, embroidered with the royal crest of Arendelle, and wiped his brow. He breathed a sigh of relief that the seemingly indestructible Princess Anna was, apparently, still indestructible. Kai lowered the cloth from his eyes just in time to watch the Princess attempt to raise herself from the debris, only to place one of her hands on the cylindrical metal arm of one of the knights, lose her balance, and fall quite unceremoniously on her backside.

Kai attempted, and failed, to hide a fond smile as he quickly stowed the handkerchief back in his green and burgundy striped waistcoat and waded into the carnage.

"Princess Anna!" He exclaimed, his tone hovering in that zone between scalding and the indulgent fondness of a doting parent. The Princess looked up at him with big, blue eyes. It was exactly the same sorrowful expression a guilty toddler doing her best to look innocent might give her nanny. The effect was such that he could not help but smile broadly at her as he extended his hand to the young Princess. She accepted the assistance with only a little bit of trepidation. Kai had been picking her out of rubble for basically all of her life.

"What happened?" the steward asked, still providing a supporting arm as he assisted the Princess through the ruins.

"Oh…" she laughed nervously, "nothing." Princess Anna tried to look around nonchalantly, as if her crashing through all of the plate armor at the foot of the stairs was completely normal. Which it was, really. "I, well, you know… tripped…" she finished lamely, trying not to look at Kai, but instead making a show of dusting herself off and smoothing her red pig tails down into some semblance of order.

Kai did not have any children of his own, but he _had_ been exposed to the royal sisters now for over eighteen years, and before that to the antics of a once boisterous Prince Agdar of Arendelle. He recognized all the signs.

"Where is your tutor?" He asked the Princess, narrowing his eyes in suspicion and now noticing that there was what looked like _soot_ smeared on her face, on her green woolen blouse, and on her elaborately embroidered tan skirts. "I thought you were to study philosophy this morning with Master Oppert?"

The Princess's expression became even shiftier at the mention of Master Oppert, and Kai's sense that something had happened increased dramatically. Princess Anna was suddenly _very_ interested in the purple crocuses embroidered on her leather slippers and along the base of her skirt.

"Weeelllll…" she began, drawing out the word in such a way that made Kai equal parts amused and irritated. Princess Anna tended to have that effect on people. "We finished a bit early today." Princess Anna of Arendelle bit her lower lip.

"Oh?" he asked, trying to draw more out of the young Princess.

"Yeah." She stated it quickly, with confidence, then she looked up at Kai and her attempt at maintaining that charade fell by the wayside. "Sooo… I _may_ , strictly _hypothetically_ , you know… accidentally of course… burned all his books?"

Kai blinked at her, not sure what answer he expected. Clearly, _fire_ hadn't been part of what he was prepared to hear. Princess Anna's face was screwed up in an expression of uncertainty as she tried to gauge his reaction.

"And then… he… you know. _May_. Have fallen into the Fjord." Princess Anna was now bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet with her hands clasped behind her back. Kai recognized this as one of the Princess's nervous habits. "And then, he, well, perhaps _may_ have hit his head pretty hard on, um, well… I don't know… the _dock_." She continued to watch Kai nervously, looking for any kind of reaction. Kai was still stunned into silence. "So now he's resting up in the parlor, where…" she hesitated. "Where it's dark and… um… _quiet_." She tapped her hands together nervously then smoothed her bangs, tucking some loose hairs behind her ear.

Kai continued to stand there without saying a word, flabbergasted. He really, _really_ did not want the full details… but, well, he had to know the extent of the damage. And he needed to know if he would have to put a notice out for a new philosophy tutor. I was getting very difficult to find them for the Princess, anymore. It seemed like word had gotten out.

"Your Highness, how did the books catch fire?" he finally asked, tentatively, afraid of the answers that might result.

Princess Anna resumed rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet, a very small _smile_ beginning to form on her expressive face. A twinge of fatherly affection surged through Kai. She was turning into such a lovely young lady. She would break the hearts of Europe one day.

"Well, we were in the library and I wanted to show him a project I was working on for my _natural philosophy_ … I'm learning about, umm… volcanos." Kai continued to listen in horrified fascination as a mischievous twinkle gleamed in her eyes. "Well, so I built this mountain out of papier-mâché, and I think maybe I sort of forget what's really supposed to go in it to make it, you know… erupt." Princess Anna was becoming more and more animated as she told her story. She began to pace back and forth in front of him. "Well, I mean, they're supposed to _spew fire_ , right? So I figured I needed some fire. Well… one thing led to another, there was a little accident, maybe? The table and all of the books caught on fire."

Kai continued to look at her in disbelief. "So then, how did he fall into the fjord if the two of you were in the library?"

"Heh heh," Princess Anna chuckled nervously, "I was just gonna get to that… Sooo, um… when I saw that, like, the _whole_ table was on fire, well I couldn't just _leave_ it there in the _library_. _Yeash_ , Elsa would probably go ballistic if anything happened to her collection. Not that… you know… she would actually _show_ it… She would just, like, be disappointed…" Anna resumed her pacing, though with a slightly more worried look on her face than before.

"So, of course I picked up the whole table and threw it and everything on it out the window." Kai nodded for her to continue. "So… Master Oppert _happened_ to, umm, be standing between the table and the window… and… uh, he went out into the fjord with the table and all of the books. So, I mean, then I _immediately_ ran out to the little dock there on the north side of the palace. You know, where you get that really great view of the North Mountain? And some guards helped me fish him out of the water. And, well, I guess I knocked him pretty good against the dock when I hauled him out."

The chief steward really had nothing to say to this. It seemed like not only would Princess Anna break the hearts of Europe, she would also break their _heads_. All he could do was examine the girl in front of him and marvel at the amount of damage that could be unleashed from one small person. Well, he conceded, not that _small_ anymore. When had the little princess with her fearless love of adventure grown into the young woman before him? Kai tried to collect his thoughts; another unfortunate effect of speaking with Princess Anna, anyone who listened to her explanations generally needed a few moments to sort it all out. Kai suddenly felt a twinge of sympathy for whatever country or estate Princess Anna married into someday in the future.

"So, your morning schedule opened up, then." He stated as neutrally as he could. "And so what are you doing down here?" He asked. There wasn't much down this way that might interest the Princess. It was possible to access the official, more public, spaces of the palace this way, but little else. Anna looked sideways at the steward.

"It's snowing." It was a single statement, posited in a matter of fact manner, as if it explained everything. Kai remained silent. Sometimes, if you didn't say anything at all Princess Anna would fill the whole conversation herself. She hated silence, and would often do her best to overcome a completely silent room all by herself. Kai considered this with a pang of sadness. By the time the late King Agdar had turned sixteen he had visited most of the friendly nations in the region, and was beginning to make a name for himself as a very handsome and _charming_ young man. Anna was so much like her father. It seemed a shame that she should be cooped up here with no real companionship and nothing to do with herself but terrorizing the staff and the furniture.

Things were so different now, though. Everything in the palace had been shut up for the last ten years, and even the King and Queen had only attended the most important state functions. Kai's thoughts wandered away from Princess Anna to the Crown Princess herself, who at that moment should have been meeting with Duke Nordhavn, the Chief of her Regency Council, and Baron Hovlund, the ambassador appointed to represent Arendelle in _Weasel Town_. He always thought about Crown Princess Elsa with a twinge of melancholy, but there was no reason to dwell on the past, and besides, Princess Anna was filling in the blank spaces in the conversation again. He did his best to nod patiently, and try to understand what sort of mischief he was preventing. She was dancing on the balls of her feet again in nervous excitement.

"… I mean, the sled was _completely_ destroyed so… I thought, maybe there might be, you know _something else_ I could use instead, and…" Anna trailed off and eyed him speculatively. "Is Elsa…?" she started to ask, falsely casual, and pointing vaguely in the direction of the Royal Study.

A wave of panic seethed through the steward, and he hurried to interrupt Princess Anna's train of thought. The last thing Crown Princess Elsa needed was for her sister to barge through her study while she was discussing current trade terms with her advisors. "I'm… I'm afraid Her Majesty is caught up in a meeting this morning with the Duke of Nordhavn and the Baron Hovlund, Your Highness. She does not wish to be disturbed." Kai stammered quickly. Now it was his turn to avert his gaze nervously. "She will be engaged all of this afternoon and evening with her tutors, as well."

"Oh," the Princess replied, her shoulders slumped a little and she looked downcast and gloomy. It was an unusual and unwelcome change in Princess Anna, and Kai regretted that he had to be the instrument of it. He cautiously raised his large, beefy hand and patted the young Princess on the back with a kind smile.

"Now, Princess Anna, as you said, it _is_ snowing outside, so…"

"That's right!" She perked up immediately, all of the previous moment's melancholy dispersed to the ether. "And I need to get out into it before my mathematics tutor shows up!" Princess Anna turned to run up the stairs to fetch her winter cloak, boots, and bonnet from her room. She stopped after a few steps to look back at Kai. She wore a very stern expression that felt unnatural on the merry Princess' face.

"You won't tell Elsa about my philosophy tutor, will you?" she asked.

Kai smiled. "It will be our little secret," he promised. "I'll see what we can do about replacing those books, though, shall I?"

Princess Anna beamed at him and without another word; she sprinted up the stairs, making as much noise as she possibly could. Kai watched her go until she reached the landing on the second floor and ducked through the door into the passageway where her rooms were. He shook his head. Princess Anna was a real handful. He turned away with a soft chuckle and started to wander toward the staircase at the other end of this hall, where the rest of the royal establishment's administration took place. It was important that he get out occasionally to look after the household, after all, and it couldn't hurt to check in and see how Crown Princess Elsa was making out with her meetings and her own perusal of the Treaty of Guldone.

He passed through the empty and abandoned ballroom and traversed the darkened formal dining room and into the kitchens. Even though the palace staff had been running on a dramatically reduced number of footmen and maids, there were still some signs of life and activity in the kitchens. At least half a dozen undercooks and kitchen maids were already toiling away over hot stoves and preparing dough for breads and pastries. There was still Princess Anna to feed, who could eat enough for three grown men on active military service, and Crown Princess Elsa, who ate only when pressed, and the members of the Regency Council often had dinner at the Palace when there was some urgent matter to attend to, or they simply enjoyed eating at the Crown's expense. None of the upper servants would ever let the honor of the royal table be impeached, and the chef took great pains to maintain it. After a few pleasant words with the portly, good-humored chef to confirm that the kitchen budgets and supplies were in order, and he moved on, back up the hall, past the empty ballroom and towards the throne room.

He passed by Gerda, his long-time friend and companion here at the palace. She was several years his senior, but had started working there only two years before Kai himself. She was now the housekeeper, and she administered her dominion with a sharp attention to detail and the dignity of the royal house. Kai had always rather liked Gerda's company. She had been a tall, willowy girl with a striking figure when he had first met her, and Kai thought she was still a rather good-looking woman. He had always thought she had very pretty eyes. The steward unconsciously ran his hand through the hair that no longer existed on the top of his head, and bowed gallantly to her as they moved past one another in the hallway. She smiled at him, an expression that lit up her face, then hurried off, muttering something about 'Princess Anna' and a 'badger' and something surprisingly like 'through the window.'

Deciding that discretion, in this instance, might be the better part of valor, he let her be on her way without asking any further questions. He opened one of the ornate doors to the throne room, and slipped in as surreptitiously as a man of his considerable bulk could. A little bit of light always managed to filter into this room from the row of windows in a gallery at the top of the structure. Someone had opened the heavy velvet curtain on one of the large glass windows that lined the outside wall of the royal audience chamber. Gloomy sunlight filtered in, and the window presented a lovely view of the fjord and the mountain range beyond. Kai approached the window to admire the view. It looked like the North Mountain was covered in deep snow, and the large snowflakes continued to fall from the sky at a slow, but steady pace.

After a few moments of marveling at the snow, Kai realized that he was not alone. A solitary maid was busy polishing the single ornate throne on the raised dais. The throne itself was simple, as was the fashion of the Arendellean monarchy. They tended, as a whole, to be very understated in their tastes and this piece of furniture, literally the seat of power, was a testament to that fact. It was a severe, high-backed mahogany chair. The velvet cushions and trim, bisected purple and green, were embroidered with the royal crocus that had represented Arendelle for six generations in fine golden thread. Kai nodded politely to the maid when she looked up from her work, then slipped out back into the hallway to continue his tour.

The grand staircase at the southeast corner of the palace was a little more ornate than the others. It was in the official, slightly more public wing, and was kept up to impress visiting foreign dignitaries, as well as the relatively peaceful nobility of Arendelle. Kai walked up this staircase and up into the hallway where most of the government offices were within the palace gates. Most of these were empty, and had been for the last ten years. The King had built a new government building just outside the gates after… the accident… but it was inevitable when running a country, even a small one like Arendelle, that _some_ of the apparatus of government would remain _inside_. Now that responsibility for administering and providing the basic functions of government had been settled on the Regency Council, several of the offices had reopened, and four of the most important members, the Duke of Nordhavn himself as well as the chiefs of the treasury, defense, and justice had all been granted offices within the palace. None of them liked using them very much. The Crown Princess may have relented in granting permission to use these offices, but she kept most of the windows and doors tightly shut. Even in the warmest summer months.

This late in the morning, these offices were currently empty, with no sign that any of their occupants were in the palace. There was one exception. The door to the Duke of Nordhavn's door was open and his hat and heavy winter overcoat were still hanging inside. Kai wondered if he were still meeting with Crown Princess Elsa as he continued down the hall and up another half-flight of stairs to a very ornate landing. Fresh flowers lined the walls, plush red and gold carpet covered the floor, to his left, a set of curtained french doors led out to a balcony he knew overlooked the palace's courtyard. To his right, the set of very large, elaborately painted double doors remained closed.

Kai had just made up his mind to knock and announce himself when one of the doors on his right opened, and two men exited. The Duke of Nordhavn was an elderly man with a full head of grey hair. It was evident that he had been tall when we was younger, but with age had a developed a pronounced stoop. He still moved with animation and an energy that belied his years, however, and his grey eyes were sharp, and clear. He had a stoic, imperturbable personality. Nothing in government surprised him anymore, and he often found it to be amusing. He had been a member of the King's Council in the time of King Magnus, the late King Agdar's father.

The other man must have been the Baron of Hovlund. Kai had never met the man before, though he had seen plenty of correspondence from him in his official capacity as ambassador to _Weasel Town_. Kai's first impression was that he seemed very _young_ and very _handsome_ for such an important post. He looked to be, perhaps thirty. In fact, he seemed young enough that someone might have designs on the currently vacant position of royal consort. Kai felt a wave of ill-defined dislike for the young man and the steward struggled, with success, to keep a calmly detached expression.

"Your Grace, Your Lordship," Kai greeted them respectfully. "How were your discussions?"

The Duke maintained his ever stoic, slightly pleasant and amused expression, but the younger Baron's face expressed harried concern and doubt.

"Went very well," the elderly Duke smiled, he sounded genuinely pleased. The Baron, however, still looked pensive. "Her Majesty has quite an excellent grasp of law and economics. She is quite well versed on the history of our relationship with Westleton." The Baron managed to look even more doleful. "Her understanding of Grand Strategy, though by no means deficient, lacks some of the realpolitik nous that Baron Hovlund here would like, but I expect she will develop her own opinions on that with a bit more _experience_." The Duke smiled affectionately at his younger companion.

"Yes, well, I believe it's important to be firm with the Westletonians right up front in these negotiations and escorting their delegation with royal guards is completely reasonable!" The young Baron protested with some passion. "I've been serving as ambassador there for two and a half years now, and they are _always_ trying to swindle something out of someone. Besides, we can get a much more _pleasant_ and much more _advantageous_ market for several of our commodities from the Southern Isles, or Corona, or Denmark, or even France or Prussia!"

Kai nodded, not willing to express his opinion of this approach. Setting a troop of menacing royal guards on foreign dignitaries wasn't something King Agdar would have done, and though Crown Princess Elsa was difficult to read, there was nothing in her education or upbringing that might suggest she would favor such a course of action either. There was also that nagging, sneaking suspicion that he could not quite shake about this Baron. He was young, he was quite handsome, his dark brown hair was cut in the latest fashion, and his long sideburns neatly trimmed and brushed. The Baron Hovlund was also quite tall and muscular, and Kai was sure that he would look quite dashing on a horse or doing whatever it was romantic young men did these days. This time Kai was unable to hide his expression of disapproval, but the Duke clearly thought it was in relation to whatever it was had been talking about while he was lost in thought.

"We could get a better tariff rate, certainly," he patted Baron Hovlund on his dark grey, elaborately embroidered bunad arm. "But there are also the armaments we import, and the security of our defensive alliance against Sweden as well. And besides, thought the _Duke_ of Westleton can be a grasping, ungracious man, the royal family themselves have been very polite and accommodating. They even sent a very nice gift on the passing of the late King and Queen."

The handsome Baron grumbled, but did not outright argue with the Duke.

"Now," the Duke clapped his hands together, "how would you gentlemen like to have a little drink and discuss a few interesting diplomatic missives Arendelle has received from the courts of Europe?"

The Baron nodded enthusiastically, and agreed heartily. Kai, on the other hand shook his head sadly. "I'm trying to catch Crown Princess Elsa before she begins with her tutors." He gestured to the closed doors of the royal study.

"Of course," Nordhavn conceded. "She is, I believe, just going over some of her notes on whatever mathematics she's gotten herself into."

Kai chuckled affectionately. "Yes, Her Majesty certainly _has_ always loved mathematics. Even as a little girl."

"Well," the Duke smiled conspiratorially at his companion, " _someone_ also seems to have gotten her majesty a rather newish publication on the subject. Something by a Peter Dirichetet."

The Baron smiled, and the expression lit up his handsome features in a pleasant way that made Kai want to ban him from the palace grounds. "Damned fool thing is written completely in French by some obscure German. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, but…" he trailed off with a broader smile and a shrug. He looked, Kai thought, disgustingly pleased with himself. "If you say Her Majesty was pleased, then I shall take your word for it."

Kai looked at his pocket watch. "I'm afraid I will have to continue this later, gentlemen, if you will excuse me?"

"Of course, we had best get down to that drink. Come Hovlund," he took his taller, younger companion by the arm. "My cousin, who married a Scottish noble…" Kai watched them wander off down the stairs. He shook his head. Surely it wasn't unusual for members of the nobility to give little gift to their monarch, was it? No. Of course not. It was important to curry favor for appointments… and… and such. He knocked gently on the study door.

"Your Majesty? Do you have a few moments?" Kai paused, listening for any sort of reply. It usually took her a few moments to answer when you did not have an appointment.

"Please come, Kai," she finally responded, with her soft, polite voice.

He opened the door quietly, and made sure to shut it softly behind him. He knew that loud or sudden noises could make it difficult to control her little… problem. He tried to surreptitiously inspect the room to check for any sign of ice. Other than being a little bit chilly, which one could reasonably expect given the very _small_ fire in the very large and magnificent fireplace, everything looked clean, neat, orderly, and _ice free_.

"Was there something specific you needed, Kai?" she asked courteously, looking up from a pile of scattered papers and books littering the large, antique writing desk.

"Nothing specific, Your Majesty," he turned his assessing eyes to the Crown Princess. "I was just looking over the palace, taking a bit of a break from looking over those _Weasel Town_ treaties. I thought I would stretch these old legs, and see if you needed anything, ma'am."

She smiled tightly, an expression that never quite reached her eyes, then grimaced. She looked like she wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to express her thought. Kai took the opportunity to really _look_ at Crown Princess Elsa.

She looked stretched, he thought, and thin. Her deep purple jacket seemed to hang off her in a way that it hadn't six months ago. The high collar of her blouse seemed a little looser. He would need to speak with Gerda about her eating habits before she was nothing but skin and bones. She looked pensive, wan, and pale, but then that was nothing new. She had looked pained and pallid ever since she had started wearing gloves shortly after the incident that was only ever referred to in hushed tones as 'The Accident.'

All things considered, she looked very pretty and well turned out. Crown Princess Elsa had a dramatic, ideal Nordic beauty and a well-poised, regal posture that set off anything her dressmaker chose to cloth her in. Kai knew the woman was disappointed that the Crown Princess would wear nothing but the most layers, in the most conservative cut, buttoned up from toe to chin. Kai had to admit that despite her grumblings, the royal clothier had done an exceptional job. The dark purple jacket trimmed with black velvet, deep burgundy satin, fine golden embroidery coupled with the relatively plain black bodice and pale blue blouse did more to set off the Crown Princess's stunningly blue eyes and strikingly blonde hair, pinned up in a tightly braided bun, than anything a more fashionable continental lady might wear. Kai smiled as she continued to look for the words to express herself. She was the spitting image of her late mother.

Yes, Elsa of Arendelle had certainly grown up to be a very elegant and beautiful woman, if a very unhappy one. Kai approached the desk where she sat, stood at a respectful distance, waiting for her to speak. He glanced at the papers in front of her. The one at the top was scribbled over with circles, triangles, and symbols that Kai recognized as Greek letters, but that he didn't understand the significance of. A neatly stacked treaty sat on the side of the desk. It was heavily tabbed and looked well worn. A highly detailed military map of the shared border between Arendelle and Westleton lay beneath it. Her elegant scribble covered the margins of both documents. She had, he considered again also grown to be a very intelligent and thoughtful woman.

Kai couldn't help but notice a slim book by Peter Dirichtet was discarded to a pile of papers that looked like they had been relegated as less important, and Kai breathed a sigh of relief. She tapped her pencil thoughtfully against her lips and twisted it idly in her kid-gloved hand. Finally she spoke.

"I know you haven't finished looking over the Treaty of Guldone in its entirety, but have you looked over the section that details our mineral trade with Westleton, Kai?" Crown Princess Elsa did not speak loudly. She was usually extraordinarily soft spoken, as if the sound of her own voice might set herself off. She was nervous about something, though. More nervous than usual, even. Kai could tell by the way that she clenched her jaw and the way that she kept taking sidelong glances at the map on her desk.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied, somewhat taken aback by the question. He had rather imagined that he would be fetching her a cup of tea, or some sort of snack…

"They seem to want a lot of coal." It was a statement of fact. She smoothed her pensive, slightly worried expression into a blank, emotionless mask. Kai did not care for this change. He had never liked what it represented, but then Kai was only the steward, and his opinion on the subject had never mattered much.

"Yesss…" he agreed slowly, not sure what the Crown Princess was getting at nor where she was going. Unlike her younger sister, who always wore her heart on her sleeve, Crown Princess Elsa was not an easy read. It was almost impossible to tell what she was feeling, Kai was better than most, and could pick out a few of her expressions, but he had been with the family for over twenty years and had known her when she was only a tiny babe, full of smiles and joy and liveliness.

"They have plenty of coal within their own boarders," the Crown Princess asserted as fact. She looked at Kai as if she expected him to offer some affirmation of her statement.

"I suppose they do, Your Majesty," he nodded uncertainly.

"The Cahaht Mines alone produce almost as much coal as all of Arendelle's exports." She leaned back in her chair, then _something_ passed over her face. It flitted quickly, but Kai couldn't help but notice that the room had gotten a little colder. The Crown Princess was now hugging herself, her breathing a little more strained. Kai leaned forward, concern written all over her face."

"Are you okay, Your Majesty?" he asked, careful not to get too close. He was well aware that the Crown Princess was very strict with her personal space requirements.

"Yes, yes," she assured him, waving him away with a graceful wave of her hand. "I'm fine." She looked the picture of grim determination, then her face smoothed and she sat up straight, and perfectly poised, once more. "I just…"

She was interrupted by another knock at the door. Kai watched her grimace as she carefully shifted some of the papers on her desk to cover where she had been resting her hand just a moment before.

"Your Majesty?" asked a respectful male voice with a slight French accent from beyond the closed door. "It is time for your French lesson, if it is convenient for you."

The Crown Princess's wide, somewhat panicked eyes shifted around the room like a small child caught in some wrong doing. They stopped on the clock. One o'clock.

"Yes, please, Monsieur Gaubert, please come in," she called, all business and all calm regality once more. She smiled apologetically at Kai. He noticed it still didn't reach her eyes. "We must finish this conversation later, I'm afraid," she said as she stood to see Kai out and great her tutor, and lead him toward a pair of chairs on the other side of the room, well away from her desk. "Two things, though, Kai. Please, have Master Ehman come to me when he's done with Anna's mathematics lessons this afternoon. And Kai, find out what the Westletonians want with all that _coal_."

Kai bowed deeply to the Crown Princess with a promise that he would see that both her requests were complied with. He smiled politely to the French and music tutor, a thin, middle-aged man with sandy hair and a small goatee who was always very fashionably dressed in the most current French styles. Gerda slipped in behind the Frenchman quietly, a basket of fancy work under her arm. They never left the Crown Princess alone with her tutors, just as much for propriety's sake as to ensure someone was there to whisk them away at the first sign of _trouble_. Kai and Gerda exchanged polite nods and friendly smiles as the steward stepped out into the hallway and was just able to hear the Crown Princess's greeting the French master with a melodious "Bonjour, monsieur Gaubert. J'espére que vous allez bien?" as he shut the door quietly behind him.

He turned one last, concerned look to the closed door, then made his way slowly back down to the government offices. He waved down the footman standing at the base of the short stairway and sent him off to deliver the Crown Princess's message to the mathematics tutor. He added that Master Ehman should not present himself any sooner than three o'clock. Princess Anna's study habits were often eratic and brief, and Kai did not wish to disturb Crown Princess Elsa's other studies, which were _not_ known to be brief nor erratic. She depended on regularity and routine. The steward then wandered down the hallway of closed doors. Maybe he should join the Duke, after all? Whom else would he be able to make heads or tails of _Weasel Town's_ seemingly abnormal desire for coal?

The Duke of Nordhavn's door was open, and Kai presented himself in the doorway and rapped politely on the doorframe.

"Come in! Come in!" The usually subdued Duke of Nordhavn exclaimed happily as soon as he saw Kai. "Come and grab a glass and pull up a chair." He motioned toward a side table where a crystal decanter and several fine crystal glasses stood. The Duke looked genuinely pleased to see him. Kai was sorry to see that the Baron was still there, swirling his own crystal glass of amber liquid, and stretched out languidly on his chair. The younger man did not look pleased.

"Thank you, Your Grace," Kai a polite genuflection as he entered the room. He poured himself a very small measure of the liquor, and then sat on the high backed chair next to Baron Hovlund.

"As I said, Kai, this is a Scottish whiskey that my cousin was so kind to send me. She married a Scot when she was quite young, but we have kept in touch over the years. She was always a lovely, lively girl." He smiled at the old memory, then lifted his glass in Kai's direction. "May I propose a toast to Her Majesty, Elsa of Arendelle?"

"Long may she reign," Kai responded, with a smile. The Baron said nothing, but lifted his glass as well. Kai touched the crystal glass to his lips and took an experimental sip. It was very good. Perhaps he should speak with the Butler about acquiring some for the Crown? There was no entertaining _now_ , but Crown Princess Elsa's coronation would be a large, magnificent affair. This seemed like the sort of thing they might wish to serve to some of their more honored guests. He shifted to make himself more comfortable of the straight backed, wooden chair.

"I was just chatting with young Baron Hovlund here about the prospects for Arendelle under the rule of _Queen_ Elsa," the Duke said, bringing Kai into the conversation the two men had been having before he joined them. "We believe the future looks quite bright."

The Baron only nodded, he smiled faintly, but he was clearly not interested in saying much in the presence of the chief steward.

"Of course," Kai smiled, taking another sip of his Scottish whiskey. "I'm certain there are several governments in Europe that will envy us our future monarch."

The Duke chuckled. "Yes, some of the stories of that young lad in Denmark… that Prince Eric? What with that _wedding_ fiasco?" he laughed again.

"Well, to be fair," Baron Hovlund spoke up, a gleam of amusement in his eyes, "he _is_ married now, and they have a lovely little girl."

"Well," the Duke smiled, "to more serious matters… actual _governance_. Our Crown Princess Elsa seems to have a remarkable facility for application. Reads absolutely everything we send her. And she's sharp. For all that she doesn't speak very loudly or swagger about the place like a young peacock at meetings of the Regency Council, the questions that she _does_ ask? And the notes she sends back about the documents we send her?" The Duke laughed again. "Well, I've never seen so many powerful men put in their place by a little slip of a girl. She can't weigh more than what? Seven stones?"

Kai was very pleased to hear these positive reviews, and was proud on her behalf. He grinned. Of course she was well read, she had never been allowed to do much more than that. As far her intelligence… "She takes after her mother that way," Kai observed.

"A true gem among river stones, Queen Idun," the Duke conceded. "Quiet, soft spoken, but controlled King Agdar with a velvet touch of steel. It was a black day for the ladies of Arendelle when he married Princess Idun of Lynndalle."

"But I believe it was quite a happy day for their fathers," Kai laughed softly. "Serves him right to have two pretty daughters."

There was a moment of silence as the two older men sipped their drinks and contemplated their late King and Queen. They had been very popular, and both men had many fond memories of them professionally and personally.

"Bah!" The Duke broke the silence. "She will be a force to be reckoned with. She just needs a little more _confidence_. She's timid enough to be a debutant at her first ball!"

Kai refrained from mentioning that the Crown Princess had never attended a ball, and that she _was_ indeed a debutant into _any_ sort of society. And the definition of society Kai was using included meetings with _two_ other people to discuss trade agreements.

"Maybe if we could get her to open up these gates, get her out into the world. She's clever enough to make even some of those _big countries_ sit up and listen!" The Duke exclaimed, bringing the crystal decanter to the table and pouring himself another large measure. He offered more to the other two men. They declined.

"It doesn't hurt matters that she's certainly pretty enough that they'd all be more than happy to listen to any thing she had to say to them." The Duke set his decanter down and lounged back in his chair.

Kai chuckled. "So long as they were able to do it in a private audience?" A sly gleam lit in his eye, "Perhaps if it's confidence you're looking for, there's always Princess Anna? You'll have no problem getting _her_ to open up the gates and get out into the world!"

"Good heavens, _no_ , man!" the Duke exclaimed, laughing quite hard now. Baron Hovlund even snorted into his drink at the thought. "Princess Anna has absolutely no concept of responsibility, and very little inclination to apply herself to anything of a serious nature! No, Crown Princess Elsa has the discipline and capacity that Princess Anna most certainly _lacks_."

"Come now, Your Grace," Kai laughed, "Princess Anna is a very bright girl. She's just high spirited. She takes too much after her father."

"Yes," the Duke drawled wryly, "if we could just somehow combine the two, and get a Crown Princess Elsa with Princess Anna's confidence and sense of adventure…"

Now Kai laughed in earnest, "You want another Emperor Napoleon? We would rule half the continent and the other half would have been accidentally set on fire!"

The Duke and Baron both laughed at this, but soon the Baron began to glare moodily into his glass. A pleasant silence descended on the three men, and the Duke slipped a little more of the Scottish whiskey into Kai's glass. The Baron stretched out his long, high booted legs and crossed them at the ankle. A decidedly disgruntled air hung around him. Kai did not mind openly examining the man. He knew his position in the royal household, and he knew that openly assessing a young nobleman was well within his remit.

"Oh, don't mind him, Kai," Duke Nordhavn told him, watching the steward observe their younger companion. "He's only a bit put out that the Crown Princess didn't seem to show any interest in his handsome face, manly figure, or his gallant manners. We old men getting sentimental about lovely ladies is doing nothing to improve his mood. I suspect it's been a very long time indeed since our good Hovlund was last crossed in love."

The Baron huffed indignantly. "She almost had a fit when I tried to kiss her hand. Really!"

"I did warn the young fool," Duke Nordhavn explained to Kai with a rather uncharacteristic roll of his eyes. "I said: The Crown Princess does not like strangers and she does not like to be touched in any way. Keep a respectful distance and don't speak too loud. Honestly, Hovlund, I'm shocked she let you stay."

Kai looked at the handsome young man now with something that might be most adequately described as a mix between loathing and horror. It did not seem as if there had been any problems, though… It appeared her Majesty was really learning control. He focused on the Baron's face, and his expressive, chocolate eyes. Good Lord! His eyes _were_ the exact color of chocolate! He resolved never to mention that analogy to Her Majesty. Chocolate seemed to be one of the only things she genuinely enjoyed. It certainly would _not_ do to associate that with this man.

"Well, I don't know _how_ you woo a woman who refuses to let you anywhere _near_ her," the Baron protested.

"I suppose you _don't_ ," the Duke replied coolly. "Or perhaps you take it a bit slower. She did like your gift, though. At least you have that, my friend."

Kai listened to the exchange with a sort of fascination. The Regency Council had no actual authority, or mandate, to marry their underage monarchs, nor any other member of the Royal Family. The monarch, even while still in their minority, would be required to get the approval for any nuptials, if they desired to marry before coming of age and ascending to the throne. Kai supposed that even though there was no power within the council to marry Crown Princess Elsa, that wouldn't necessarily stop them from encouraging their young charge in a certain direction. Even though the Consort of the Queen Regnant had no actual _power_ or _authority_ , it was still a very attractive position. The House of Arendelle was very rich, and the Crown Princess was quite possibly one of the most beautiful women in Europe. The Crown Princess was delicate, though, and they would have to be very careful in looking for an appropriate suitor. A bad match could crush what spirit she had. Then there was the little matter of her, well, of her _curse_ …

Kai _knew_ he hadn't liked this upstart little nobleman. He fixed Baron Hovlund with a look of suspicion that merely served to make it appear as if the steward had smelled something funny.

"How can you even _tell_ she liked it, Nordhavn?" he grumbled, taking another small sip of his whiskey, then swirling the rest around in the fine crystal glass.

"Hovlund, you are as mopey as a beardless boy," the Duke accused. "I know she did because she didn't stop looking at it the entire time we were there."

Kai did not like the sound of that. Still, she had been looking at the _book_ , not at the Baron. His spirits lifted. Unfortunately for him, this same line seemed to lift the Baron's spirits as well.

"Still," the now mollified Baron went on, "I'm not sure _how_ to understand her. She's a bit like a statue: very beautiful, very poised, but very cold and expressionless. Do you think she feels anything at all, Nordhavn?"

Kai did not agree with most of this. He knew the Crown Princess could actually be very expressive. It was just that other than Regal Poise, and Royal Indifference, most of her expressions were varying degrees of Sorrow, Guilt, Worry, or Fear.

"You know what some of the council say?" The Baron continued. "That she has a touch of ice. That she's cold and completely unfeeling. That's why her royal emblem is that snowflake."

"A Snow Queen?" the Duke snorted at the absurdity. "That emblem is the same one her father and grandfather had before her when _they_ were the heir apparent. It's as old as Arendelle itself."

Kai's frown deepened. He did not find the quip amusing in the least. Baron Hovlund didn't seem to find it very funny, either. He finished off the last sip of his Scottish whiskey and stood up, tall and straight. He glowered petulantly, and Kai did not think him quite so handsome as he had before.

"I think I will take my leave, Your Grace, Master Kai," he bowed and made to leave.

"Oh, wait!" Kai exclaimed, wanting to ask both of these men the Crown Princess's question before the party broke up for the afternoon. The Baron turned back around in the doorway. "Coal?" He exclaimed. "Her Majesty asked me to find out why they want so much coal."

There was no question who 'they' were. The Duke began to laugh again, in an affectionate way. "Sharp. What did I say? We didn't even _think_ of that, but now that you mention it, they were quite adamant about the quantity and cost of coal two years ago. The details are, I'm sure buried in the documents, but I remember the matter quite well now that you mention it."

Baron Hovlund, kept his face neutral as he considered Kai carefully. "Steam," he finally said. "They're building a railway, steamships…" It seemed as if this was an idea that had just hit him. "That could be a problem… if they want to lay rail along the southern border… they could quite easily start encroaching into our territory. I need to go look at my maps!" he exclaimed suddenly with a worried look.

Kai casually sipped the rest of his whiskey. He was certainly not impressed. The Duke looked slightly amused.

"What do you think of my young friend, Kai?" the Duke asked nonchalantly, after the young man's footsteps could no longer he heard jogging down the hallway. He rested his chin on his hands.

"I must say that I think he's a little temperamental," Kai replied. "He reminds me a bit of a spoiled child."

The Duke grinned and finished of his own whiskey in a big gulp. "I couldn't agree more. He's not appropriate. And besides, he has no chance anyway. We'll have him back of to Westleton as soon as possible."


	3. A Thing About Dirt

Princess Anna of Arendelle was a true child of the summer. She was lively, vivacious, and carefree. Her red hair shone a golden bronze in the sunlight, and nothing pleased her more than the prospect of a nice picnic by the sea, with the warm summer air blowing through her braided pigtails, ruffling her bangs, and billowing her skirts out around her legs. Her very essence was of sunshine, blue skies, and endless days in lush green meadows.

Despite all of this, there had always been something about _winter_. Something that made Anna very happy. She could never quite put her finger on what it was, exactly, but it just seemed like all of her best childhood memories had involved playing with Elsa. And playing with Elsa, for whatever reason, was always associated with playing in the snow. It felt so long ago, now, but it had always seemed like little Crown Princess Elsa, heir to the Kingdom of Arendelle, had actually _enjoyed_ playing _with_ little Princess Anna, second child of King Agdar and Queen Idun.

So it always made Anna wonder: _Why?_

Why had it stopped? Why had Elsa completely stopped even being _in the same room_ with her? Anna couldn't think of anything she might have done to offend Elsa, and there was only three years between them, so having a massive falling out at five and eight years old, respectively, seemed like a bit of a stretch.

It was a series of questions Anna pondered often. Or, as often as someone of her sunny disposition and high-energy, always on-the-move way of life allowed. If anyone had noticed, if anyone had asked she would have told them that it bothered her. It was as if there was something she, Anna, _should_ have remembered about it, but couldn't quite do it. She loved her sister, that much was absolutely certain. Anna idolized Elsa, and she loved her very, very much. All she ever wanted in return was for Elsa to acknowledge her once in a while.

The little princess had largely given up on the idea that they might _actually_ , you know, do _all_ the things they used to do together as little girls. Anna still _loved_ to play in the snow, for example. She loved to get outside and toboggan, take sleigh rides, make snow angles, and of course her all time favorite: build snowmen. But then Anna also liked to run and jump, chasing the little animals that called the area within the castle walls their home. Anna also loved horseback riding, and climbing all around the castle, and her dancing lessons with Monsieur Gabault. As far as Anna could tell, Elsa didn't even _do_ any of that, and Anna seriously doubted that she ever even _had_. To Anna, Elsa appeared as a static picture of perfection that she would never be able to reach, could never live up to, and was not even allowed to approach.

Anna swore that there were even times when Elsa looked pained to even accidentally cross paths with her in the halls.

No. Seriously.

It had actually _happened_ just a few days ago. Anna may, or you know, may _not_ , have been exploring some of the halls over in the mostly deserted 'official' parts of the palace, where those stuffy _councilors_ , or whatever they were called, of Elsa's kept a few inhabited offices. It was late in the afternoon, about an hour before dinner was normally served in the palace. Anna hadn't expected anyone to actually _be_ over there…

So anyway, she had been exploring. The palace was her home, too. She had every right to be in the halls.

Yes, she had been, you know… _running_. Perhaps in an attempt to see if she could beat her best time doing a full circuit of the castle. It was _February_ , though. It wasn't as if Anna could have gone outside. She had tried it, and it was much too cold. Besides no one should have even been there at that time. But someone _had_ been, and Anna hadn't noticed until she almost, well, almost ran right into her sister.

Well, the look of absolutely unbelieving stunned _horror_ on Elsa's face. Just at the sight of her younger sister… So, maybe Anna had been exploring a _little_ rambunctiously. Maybe she _had_ been running through the halls, and maybe she had just given up on doing it outside and had just come in and was tracking all the dirty chunks of ice you know… well, everywhere.

And perhaps Anna had been very excited at seeing her big sister. She loved her, after all, and seeing her randomly in the hallway… Anna couldn't help it that she was ecstatic. So Anna did what was natural for her. She shouted a greeting and attempted to get close.

Well, Elsa gave her a critical once over with that look like someone had ripped out her organs and were stomping on them, then schooled herself back into that _stupid_ face she always put on, to scare people or to impress them or whatever it was, and walked away. Elsa hadn't even looked back. She just turned around, walked back up those stairs to _papa's_ study, and shut the door.

As far as Anna could tell, she hadn't even come back out until she was sure Anna wouldn't be there.

Anna had sat outside the door until dinner waiting. The door hadn't opened, though. Not that she'd really expected it to. Not _really_. It would just have been nice if it had.

Elsa hadn't even come to dinner that night. Not that _that_ was unusual either. Elsa had eaten dinner in the dinning room with Anna exactly five times in the last ten years. Which was fine, she supposed, before. But now that their parents were… gone… it was just Anna all alone in the large formal hall with a footman and Kai standing ominously over her as she ate. They were not very good conversationalists.

Anna went back to the study after dinner, but the doors were open, and it was vacant. No one in there but that funny painting of papa at his coronation. Anna loved that one. He looked so young and absolutely terrified. Nothing like the papa she remembered. Then she had wandered back to her own room, by way of Elsa's door. It was, as usual, shut. Anna kept walking.

It was these melancholy thoughts that occupied Princess Anna this frigid morning in late February. She was _bored_. Bored out of her skull. It was still far to cold for even Anna to go out and play. The snow had turned into something far more resembling chunks of frozen rock than proper _snow_. And now Anna had just finished her latest novel, _The Captain's Daughter_. It had all been very dashing, and romantic, with the tall, handsome Russian officer falling in love with his Captain's Daughter (hence the _name_ of the book) and his scorned rival in love accusing him of treason, and _she_ going to the Empress to beg for his life! And then of course there had been the happy ending.

It was true love.

Anna laid on her back, draped cross-ways over her bed. The fine wool and velvet covers bunched up under her. Now she was done with it. She tossed it away from her with a dramatic sweep. There was a muffled crash as several things on her dresser were knocked over, but Anna didn't even bother to look up to assess the damage. Now Anna had _nothing_ to do. She stared listlessly at the ceiling as a strong winter wind howled outside. Perhaps a storm was coming in? That might break up some of the monotony, at least…

Anna absently smoothed her wild mane of hair. Nothing to do. She had once overheard a term while she was wandering the palace halls. The Princess had never been sure who had said it, but it went something like 'the Heir and the Spare." Was that what she, Anna, was? Just the extra one? The forgotten child? It sure seemed like it sometimes, but Anna tried to remember her relationship with her parents. It had been full of love and laughter and hugs. She and mama and papa had done all kinds of things together. The second Princess of Arendelle was certain that her parents hadn't loved her any _less_ than Elsa. Anna was sure of that much, at least.

 _But,_ Anna considered _, Elsa always seemed to have a purpose…_

"She will be the Queen of Arendelle, someday," papa had always told Anna. Usually this was immediately followed by the, "So she doesn't have time to play with you right now, Anna."

 _Or ever_ , Anna thought, with a twinge of uncharitability that sometimes crept into her otherwise joyful disposition whenever she starting thinking about her sister. Anna sighed again and rolled over on her stomach, lazily gazing at the piles of clothes, stacks of books, abandoned paints, broken instruments, and haphazardly strewn toys. She kicked her leg idly in the air, considering what she ought to do with herself. Perhaps she _should_ try Elsa again? Maybe clean herself up a bit, put some effort into really looking like… well… like she had no personality and no interest in meeting or talking to anyone. Then maybe she could practice with her old friends down in the gallery hall? Would that make Elsa want to talk to her?

She had just made up her mind to go at least discuss this idea with some of the portraits when she was stopped by an efficient rap on her bedroom door. She immediately perked up. Think of the possibilities! It could be anything!

"Princess Anna?" It was Kai. "Princess Anna, are you awake yet, ma'am?" he asked. His tone was professional, even, and courteous as always. It was no wonder Elsa seemed to like him.

"Yes, I'm awake," she replied after a few moments. Anna glanced at her clock. Only half-past eleven. "I've been awake for hours," she added. A lie, perhaps, but a little one. She sat up and brushed some of her impressive morning hair out of her mouth and eyes.

"Just a reminder, ma'am, Master Ehman will be here in an hour for your mathematics lessons." Kai's response floated through the door with that same even, professional tone. But now Anna thought she could detect a trace of affection laced into the words. Anna had always loved good, kind, sweet Kai… and she suspected he really liked _her_ , too.

Like really. Not just an 'I have to because you're the Princess of Arendelle' kind of thing.

Never the less, Anna groaned and fell back on her bed, shoving a fluffy feather pillow over her face. Not _again_! How often did she have to have lessons in _mathematics_? Why couldn't Master Ehman just leave her alone and go bug Elsa?

Elsa probably _loved_ that stuff, if everything Anna knew about her elder sister held true. Of course that only really consisted of Anna's certainty that Elsa apparently liked everything that was diametrically opposed to anything Anna enjoyed.

"Princess Anna?" Kai asked again.

Anna took the pillow off her face and glared accusingly at the door. Maybe Kai _didn't_ like her after all.

"Shall I send Ingrid to help with your hair and your dress?" Kai asked, referring to a plump, stout maid who had been with the family for a long time, and occasionally served as a fill in ladies maid when Gerda was otherwise occupied.

Anna frowned, almost resigning herself to the idea of getting up and even of sitting with Master Ehman for an hour or two. "Can Gerda come?" she asked, knowing full well she sounded like a petulant child, but she _really_ wanted the woman who had been a sort of ladies maid, nurse, companion, and baby sitter all in one very patient, kind, and gentle package. Anna wanted to complain and throw a bit of a tantrum, and Gerda always let her with an understanding look, a kind smile, and often a plate of chocolate.

The length of Kai's silence did nothing to improve Anna's mood.

"I'm afraid Gerda is not available at the moment, ma'am," he finally answered. Anna thought he sounded slightly sad about that.

 _Well that's wonderful_ , Anna thought angrily. _She's probably with Elsa._ She looked at the clock – still half past eleven. Pretty late for _perfect_ Elsa to be getting dressed. _Hmph._ _Looks like all that effortless perfection's not so effortless,_ Anna thought to herself, somewhat unkindly. She immediately regretted it. Elsa was, after all, Crown Princess, and she _did_ have to look her best at all times.

"Even if she doesn't ever come out of her room," Anna added in a low mumble aloud to her clock.

"Alright, Kai, I'm up. Send Ingrid as soon as you can," Anna called to the Steward awaiting her response on the other side of the door. No other answer would be considered satisfactory, and it was time for Anna to be getting up anyway.

Kai left and within a few moments Ingrid was there, braiding Anna's hair, tying her corsets, helping the young princess retrieve her shoes from under her bed. In twenty minutes, Princess Anna was ready to face the day.

She just wasn't ready to face Trigonometry.

So when Kai told her: "Master Ehman is in the North Parlor, ma'am." Anna resolved to be _elsewhere_. 'Elsewhere' took her sliding in her stockings across the empty and abandoned ballroom, hopping through the portrait gallery, and sprinting through the hallway outside of Elsa's room.

In fact, it was very near Elsa's room that Anna almost ran in to Gerda. Almost literally. But not quite.

"Princess Anna!" the elderly woman exclaimed, clutching one hand to her heart. "You almost gave me my death of fright!"

Anna grinned manically at her. "Sorry Gerda!" she exclaimed breathlessly. But Anna really was not very sorry at all.

The old woman's breath steadied, and her look of shock and surprise shifted into suspicion. "Don't you have lessons to be attending to, Your Highness?" she asked, _almost_ very sternly.

Anna looked a bit ashamed of herself, but was too used to having her own way to be very much concerned. "Yeeessss…" she replied, as if she wanted to leave the fact of her lessons out of the conversation entirely.

"Well, ma'am," Gerda scolded in earnest now. "You had better get to them. I will absolutely _not_ have you stomping through the halls like a young elephant. Not when your sister is unwell and needs her rest. Though, really, Princess Anna, you shouldn't be doing it at all!"

Anna deflated a bit. It was one thing for Elsa to be busy, or important, or whatever, but quite another for her to actually be _unwell_.

"What's wrong with her?" Anna asked, all earnest concern. Maybe there was something she could do to help? Maybe get Elsa some soup or something?

The housekeeper eyed Anna sharply. "Never you mind, Your Highness," she said stiffly. "I'm sure she will be feeling better soon. As long as you keep from stomping about these halls in such an unladylike fashion. I suspect it will do Her Majesty some good to know her sister has bothered to attend her lessons, as well."

Anna was too well accustomed to this line of logic. 'Just be quiet and just go away.'

"Alright, alright," Anna gave up. "You're right, I suppose." She continued to stand still in the hall. Gerda kept looking at her expectantly. As if waiting for her to leave the hallway before continuing whatever it was she had been in the middle of when Anna showed up.

"Do you think Elsa might be feeling better by dinner?" Anna suddenly blurted. "Do you think she'll come down?" The princess felt a blush rise in her cheeks at the questions. But she wanted to know. Gerda seemed almost somber as she thought about her answer.

"No, Princess Anna," the housekeeper replied. There was a definite sadness in the old woman's voice. Her eyes took on a melancholy cast, and Gerda shifted her gaze away from the princess. "I do not believe Her Majesty will feel like coming down to dinner tonight, ma'am."

Another rejection. Why was it that Elsa couldn't even bear to _to be in the same room as_ Anna? What had she possibly have done to her older sister?

"Why don't you run along now, Princess Anna, and not keep Master Ehman waiting too long, hmm?" Gerda suggested very gently. She put a motherly arm around Anna, and with the smallest hint of a comforting squeeze, sent her on her way.

Anna shuffled, dejected and disappointed, down into the North Parlor where Master Ehman was indeed waiting for her. He offered a polite bow and a clipped, efficient greeting with his slight German accent.

The lesson itself went even more poorly than Anna had anticipated it would. She hadn't bothered to study the material and she was just out of sorts today. Master Ehman was also less than pleased at having been forced to wait for his pupil for almost an hour, and was frustrated at her absolute lack of interest or application. A harsh comment from the German tutor was all it took to set Anna off.

"Your sister, Crown Princess Elsa, had learned this already at twelve!" he exclaimed, pointing at a series of double angle derivations, absolutely frustrated with Anna's continued inability to understand the process. Anna, for her part, had no idea why she had to learn any of this anyway. The intimate understanding of triangles did not seem to have much bearing on her life.

"Well, _fine_ then!" she almost yelled back. "Then go and teach _Elsa_! I'm _done_."

Anna left the room in a towering rage. Why was everyone always comparing her to Elsa? To a sister who had not exchanged more than a few words with her in the last ten years? How was Anna supposed to compete with so much beauty and _perfection_? She saw Kai meandering down the hallway just before she turned into the gallery hall.

"I'm through with lessons for today, Kai. Tell whoever else you've scheduled me with that I'm _indisposed_." She called and turned her back on the startled Royal Steward. "That seems to work for _Elsa_ all the time," she grumbled to herself.

The gallery hall never failed to cheer Anna up, and today, even at this epicly low nadir of her life, was no exception. There were so many beautiful people, so many beautiful couples. So many shining examples of True Love. Each one depicting some aspect of it, all in their own special way. Anna studied each one intently, examining the faces and figures of all her old friends. She felt intimately familiar with each brushstroke of every single painting.

Anna climbed up on one of the richly embroidered cushions of a bench three quarters of the way down the hall in order to get a good look at a painting about halfway up the wall. This particular painting was different than most of the others that adorned this room. It was a portrait.

In fact, it was a portrait of the Royal Family. Anna remembered sitting for it. She had been about eleven. It was hard to believe that it had already been four years. The Princess examined each of the figures. There were mama and papa in the middle. Her father looked stern, but kind, just like a popular and fair King should be. Her lovely mother smiled, but the expression gave her a rather sad, vaguely melancholy look. Anna wondered that she had never noticed that before. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light… hardly any sunlight was able to penetrate the blizzard raging outside, and only a few candles burned in the gallery.

The Princess turned her attention to the two girls in the portrait. Anna and Elsa sat flanking their parents. Elsa sat next to papa, as his heir. Her face was already at fourteen, drawn into that blank expression, her posture already perfect. Elsa had not started pinning her hair up, but there was not a single strand out of place. She looked stiff. Of course, that could very well have been because Anna, seated on the other side of mama, had been trying to catch her attention by making rude faces. The painter had mercifully _not_ captured those efforts, and portrait Anna smiled broadly, her hair and dress arraigned with some artistic license into order.

The sound of footsteps in the hallway she had just come in from distracted Anna's contemplation of the family portrait. The last portrait they had all been in together. Anna wasn't ready to see anyone at the moment. She was still angry, upset, and hurt… and _lonely_. She slipped out the door and into the far hallway.

Maybe she would get another book. Several other novels had come in with _The Captain's Daughter_ , maybe there was another romance. _Maybe,_ Anna thought, _what I need is True Love? Maybe I just need to find The One._

She turned up the staircase, meandering slowly toward her destination, not really paying much attention to what was around her. Two palace maids greeted her politely, but Anna didn't even notice. She was too busy brooding over the realities of her life. For example, how was she supposed to meet _anyone_ , let alone her True Love if the gates were always closed and she wasn't allowed out?

She grimaced at these questions, and then very quietly slipped through the door and into the library.

Despite Anna's apparent inability to sit still for more than half a minute at one time, the Princess loved books, she loved to read, and she loved the library. It just so happened that her taste in the printed word tended more toward the frivolous and less toward the _serious_ books everyone else seemed to want her to read. Clearly, someone kept her preferences and tastes in mind, though. Whenever a new shipment of books came in to the library, which was actually quite often, there was sure to be a selection of the newest novels included with all of the boring political treatises, the dry and _already_ dusty histories, and the rather varied and sometimes colorful assortment of publications on various disciplines of natural philosophy.

The sun was already low on the horizon, and it seemed as if the worst of the blizzard had passed. Apparently, none of the household staff seemed to have thought the library would be wanted or needed today, because it was cold and there seemed to be no other light than what came in naturally from the overcast skies and half-shuttered windows. It gave the room a rather gloomy feel, and Anna wondered that no one had come in to light the candles. Anna knew that as much as she herself loved the library, Elsa also came to visit occasionally, and Anna suspected her sister sometimes sat in here very early in the morning.

Anna shivered. It seemed like it was colder in here than it ought to be. Even granting the late February cold snap. Really, if this was what the rooms in the palace were like with no fires, then Anna _really_ needed to be sure to thank the woman who came in every morning and evening to make sure the fireplace in her rooms was well provisioned. Anna rubbed her wool-clad arms a bit as an effort to dispel the chill and made her way quietly through the shelves, occasionally stopping to examine the cover of a title that caught her eye. _The House of Arendelle must have one of the largest collections of books in Northern Europe_ , Anna thought as she passed from one row of shelves and between two more rows, a bit deeper into the room.

 _Oh,_ she thought happily, as she ran a hand over the spine of an unfamiliar title. _Here's one I haven't read yet!_ Anna picked up the copy of _Cloudesly: A Tale_. It looked like it was all in English, though, and she was rather glad that she had been forced to learn to read and write in several different languages, even if her spoken accents were terrible.

Anna made her way, still as soundlessly as she possibly could, as she didn't want to be discovered just yet, toward a little reading alcove set up by the fireplace. She looked up suddenly, furrowing her brow and frowning. She thought she heard something. Anna stopped short in her progress toward the cozy chair and looked around cautiously. Was there someone else in here? Why would someone else be in the library in the deepening gloom with no light?

Anna tried, and failed to suppress another shiver. The room seemed to be getting even colder with the setting sun. The princess very carefully, very _quietly_ peeked through the bookshelf she was standing behind, scanning the room to try to find out who else was in the library without being seen herself. Anna's discovery of the identity of her companion almost made her cry out and reveal herself.

On the other side of the room, just next to the cold and dark fireplace was _Elsa_. Like, her very own _sister_ Elsa. Anna put her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from making any noise. She was quite certain that if her sister realized Anna was in the same room she would leave immediately. And Anna was so very curious, after all. Elsa was like a great big blond haired, blue-eyed mystery wrapped up in expensive kid gloves and multi-layered dresses from head to toe.

Anna knelt down and peeked through the second to bottom shelf. _Much less chance of getting caught down here_ , she reasoned, setting aside _Cloudesly_ to try to puzzle out some of the riddle that was her sister.

Elsa seemed to just be standing there, turned three quarters away from Anna's vantage point so the younger girl could only really see her sister's profile. Gerda had said Elsa was unwell. She did look it, Anna supposed. Anna thought she could see faint shadows under Elsa's eyes in the light of the sunset that was just breaking through the clouds. Anna thought Elsa seemed a bit anxious, but otherwise she looked as she always appeared when Anna was able to catch a rare sight of her sister.

Elsa was dressed in dark navy blue. Same trim skirts with very little flair or flounce, same short waisted, bunad pattern jacket, same elaborate gold snowflakes embroidered all over everything. Same crocus accents, same sapphire broach. Everything in the proper place. Everything rigidly perfect. Anna wondered if she had Gerda dress her with a ruler. Even the white gloves she always wore were spotless and pristine.

Why did she were those things anyway? Was she cold?

Not that they didn't look nice. Just about everything Elsa owned or did _looked_ nice. It was just that… Anna couldn't recall a time she had seen her sister _without_ gloves of some sort on.

 _I wonder if she sleeps in them,_ Anna thought as she watched her sister wrap her arms around herself then almost immediately straighten up to her full height. Anna stifled a snort of amusement with some difficulty. Elsa probably slept fully dressed and hair perfect, hung up in some giant wardrobe so she wouldn't wrinkle. So _of course_ she would sleep with the gloves on.

Anna kept smiling. She _did_ love her sister. It would be nice to be allowed to be in the same room like this more often. Well… maybe not _allowed_ , technically, but in the same room with Elsa and with the opportunity to watch her sister to her heart's content. As long as Anna didn't make any noise or draw any attention to herself.

In the few moments it took Anna to consider all of this, Elsa had turned completely away from Anna's hiding spot, and the Princess wondered what it was that had so absorbed Elsa's attention. Maybe after she left Anna would go take a look. Whatever it was, it didn't hold the Crown Princess's attention for long, and she started to pace back and forth in front of the cold fireplace. She seemed to be repeating something to herself very softly under her breath as she walked. Anna couldn't make out the words, though.

 _Probably some stupid mathematics theorem,_ Anna thought ruefully, recalling her rather disastrous lesson earlier that afternoon. Anna rather hoped that no report of her behavior would get back to Elsa. Anna was reasonably certain that almost everything about her studies _did_. That had actually been the cause of _one_ of the three times they had been in the same room together in the last year. It had not been a very pleasant conversation, short as it was. Kai had actually done all of the talking. Elsa had only glanced occasionally at her sister. She had looked very grave.

Elsa had stopped pacing now, and she had turned her attention back to the same bookshelf she had been so interested in before. She leaned against it, her forehead rested in one gloved hand and Elsa gestured to herself with the other. Anna watched as Elsa lifted her head from her hand, and then let the gloved hand drop onto the bookshelf she had been leaning on. Almost as soon as the hand dropped a draft ran through the room, and Elsa jumped away from the shelf as if stung by something.

Anna crawled forward, closer to the shelf she had been hiding behind, watching curiously. This was about as much as Anna could remember Elsa reacting to anything since Anna had been about five. So basically, for the first time in forever.

Elsa was now staring intently at the bookshelf. Anna tried to crane her neck and shift her position as quietly as she could in an attempt to see what it was Elsa was looking at with such intense, fascinated horror. Anna wasn't sure how else to describe the expression on her sister's face.

She was unable to make out the object of the gaze, though. The spot was obscured by shelving and Elsa… who still looked absolutely riveted by whatever it was. Maybe it was an animal? But an animal would have run away. Anna had plenty of experience with chasing the small, furry inhabitants of Arendelle's castle.

Elsa wrung her hands in front of her in a gesture of unhappy, helpless distress then slowly, cautiously, lifted one of those white gloved hands back up to the shelf. Anna had a sudden, intense desire to run from her hiding spot and tell her sister not to touch whatever it was. Anna stifled the urge, though, instead watching very carefully. She felt there was something very important here. Something that might be the key to unlocking all of her sister's secrets.

The Crown Princess's hand disappeared once more to the shelf in front of her, and Anna watched as her sister seemed to rub at a spot in front of her. Elsa frowned as she brought the glove to her face, the expression clearly directed at _something_ on the glove itself. Was it dirt?

 _Huh,_ Anna considered silently, _that would actually explain a lot_.

Elsa continued to rub the spot nervously, a slightly manic expression now spread across her features. She was muttering to herself again as she worked, presumably cleaning up whatever it was on that shelf that upset her. Anna frowned and furrowed her brows as Elsa glanced down at her feet, looking at the deep purple carpet adorned with the golden crocus of Arendelle she was standing on. Elsa seemed just as unhappy with that as she had been with the bookshelf. She rubbed at a spot with her toe.

Anna shivered again. How was it this cold in here? The hallways of the palace didn't have fireplaces either, and even _they_ weren't as frigid as it was in here. She rubbed her hands against the heavy woolen blouse on her upper arms again in an attempt to warm herself. Anna wondered that Elsa didn't look in the least bit bothered by the continuous drop in temperature. She seemed far more interested in the bit of carpet around her feet than in calling someone in to re-light the fire. Elsa bent down and rubbed a bit of the carpet with a gloved hand, then looked at her fingertips in disgust.

 _Wow_ , Anna considered silently. She didn't think she had ever seen quite so much _feeling_ from Elsa before.

But as soon as the expression appeared, it was gone again. Apparently, Elsa had retreated into her shell or whatever that was. Anna _still_ couldn't figure it out. Elsa stood up again and with a bit of a backward glance to the spot she had just been standing in, as the floor itself might rise up in revolt against her, which, Anna noted, was more than _she_ had ever gotten from her sister. Elsa calmly walked from the shelf she had taken some sort of umbrage with over to the door. Anna couldn't help but notice her sister's gait was even, smooth, unrushed. It was a slow, methodical, controlled step.

"Gerda!" Anna barely heard her sister summon the housekeeper. Elsa's low voice was very pleasant, but very difficult to hear. Anna had to strain to catch any of the brief conversation.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" Anna could hear Gerda clearly. "I'm very glad to see you out, ma'am. I was worried for you." Anna could definitely detect the fondness in Gerda's voice. Anna pondered it for a moment. How was it that Kai and Gerda, and all the palace staff, but Kai and Gerda in particular, seemed to love Elsa so _much_? Certainly, it wasn't as if Elsa was lavish with praise or kind words. Or any words, really.

Of course, Anna loved her, too. But that was different. Elsa was her _sister_. Anna found the whole question very complicated.

"I'm afraid there's a bit of a…" Elsa hesitated and Anna leaned closer, trying to listen harder. "A bit of a mess… in the library."

Anna looked around incredulously. Where was this _mess_? Was Elsa talking about the _dirt_ or _dust_ on the carpet and bookcase?

"Alright, Your Majesty," Gerda replied soothingly, as if she were trying to comfort Elsa with her words. "I'll take care of it in just a moment."

"Thank you, Gerda," Elsa replied, sounding as relieved as any automaton could express relief. "Just, could you please take care of it before Anna…?" Elsa trailed off.

"Of course, ma'am. I believe Her Highness is in the gallery hall."

There was no further response, and Anna attempted to adjust her view to bring her sister back into field of vision. It looked like Elsa was gone. The library doors stood open. Anna took the opportunity to quietly sneak over to the shelf Elsa had been so interested in only a few moments ago. She investigated the area closely. Anna couldn't see anything either on the shelf nor on the carpet. _Huh. Weird._

Anna looked up from her careful inspection of the carpet just in time to see Gerda enter the library with a shiver. Gerda closed the doors behind her, and then turned directly to where Anna was crouched over the questionable bit of carpet. Anna's bright blue eyes met Gerda's and for a moment neither one of them moved. A look of dismayed shock spread slowly across the housekeeper's face.

"Wow," Anna finally broke the uncomfortable silence, eyes wide at her newfound discovery. "So _that's_ why Elsa wears those gloves!"

"How long have you been in here?" Gerda asked her, uncharacteristically edgy and tense. There was a wariness in her expression.

Anna chose not to answer the question, but bowled headlong into her analysis.

"Wow! Does she ever have a _thing_ about _dirt_!" Anna exclaimed with a mixture of awe, amusement, and disbelief.

Gerda stared at her for a moment, brows knit, before nodding dumbly. "I believe, Princess Anna, that you should be getting back to…" she paused, clearly at a loss at what to say or how to act. "Just getting back to… whatever it was you were doing… just… you should probably go."

Anna smiled at the housekeeper and retrieved her book. "Dirt!" the princess exclaimed as she exited the room, still shaking her head at the absurdity of a grown woman's incapacitating fear of _dirt_. She knew her sister certainly would not be pleased to learn that Anna had been spying on her in the library and subsequently found out one of her closely guarded secrets, but then… the way Gerda had reacted to seeing Anna in the library, it was doubtful that Elsa would ever be any wiser. Armed with this fresh piece of information about her reclusive sister, Anna made her way back to her sitting room to reflect on just how _different_ Elsa was and maybe start her new novel before dinner.

It was, after all, very difficult for Princess Anna of Arendelle to stay unhappy for too long while there were still mysteries left to explore.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I realize that Anna's a little darker than usually portrayed, but I think it's important to note that this takes place before the coronation, before she knows what's up. Let me know what you think!  
**


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